a. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to the conditioning of bowling lanes, and, more particularly to an apparatus and method for automatically applying a predetermined pattern of dressing fluid along the transverse and longitudinal dimensions of a bowling lane.
b. Description of Related Art
It is well known in the bowling industry to clean and condition a bowling lane to protect the lane and to help create a predetermined lane dressing pattern for a desired ball reaction. Cleaning a bowling lane generally involves the application of a water-based or other cleaner, and the subsequent removal of the cleaner by means of an agitating material and/or vacuuming. While subtle variations may exist in the cleaning methods utilized by the various lane cleaning machines available on the market, the general technique of using an agitating cloth and thereafter vacuuming the applied cleaning fluid off the lane remains central. Methods of conditioning bowling lanes have however evolved over the years from the advent of the wick technology of the 1970's, 80's and early 90's to the metering pump technology of the 1990's and early 2000's.
With regard to wick technology, as illustrated in FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,884, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, wick technology generally involved the use of a wick 162 disposed in reservoir 138 including dressing (i.e. conditioning) fluid 140. During travel of the conditioning machine down the bowling lane, dressing fluid 140 could be transferred from reservoir 138 onto transfer roller 164 via wick 162 and then onto buffer roller 136 for application onto the lane. The wick technology of the 1970's, 80's and early 90's however had exemplary limitations in that once the wick was disengaged from the transfer roller, a residual amount of fluid remaining on the transfer and buffer rollers would be applied onto the bowling lane, thus rendering it difficult to precisely control the amount of dressing fluid application along the length of the bowling lane. Due to the inherent features of a wick which transfers fluid from a reservoir by means of the capillary action, wick technology made it difficult to control the precise amount of fluid transferred onto the lane and therefore the precise thickness and/or layout of the fluid along the transverse and longitudinal dimensions of the lane. Additionally, changes in lane and bowling ball surfaces over the years created the need for higher conditioner volumes, higher viscosity conditioners and more accurate methods of applying conditioner to the lane/surface, thus rendering wick technology virtually obsolete for today's lane conditioning needs.
With regard to the metering pump technology of the 1990's and early 2000's, such technology generally involved the use of a transfer roller, buffer and reciprocating and/or fixed nozzle operatively connected to a metering pump for supplying a metered amount of lane dressing fluid to the nozzle. As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,855, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, the metering pump technology disclosed therein generally involved the use of a nozzle 170 transversely reciprocable relative to a transfer roller 156. As with wick technology, metering pump technology generally transferred dressing fluid from transfer roller 156 to a buffer 138 and then onto the bowling lane. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,815, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, metering pump technology also involved the use of metering pumps P1–P4 supplying a specified amount of dressing fluid to discharge “pencils” 90, with pencils 90 being transversely reciprocable relative to a reception roller 124 and a transfer roller 130. As with wick technology, metering valve technology had exemplary limitations in that even after flow of fluid had been stopped from being applied to the transfer roller, a residual amount of fluid remaining on the transfer roller, smoothing assembly 20 (as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,290, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference), and the buffer would be applied onto the bowling lane, thus making it difficult to precisely control the amount of dressing fluid along the length of the bowling lane. For a machine employing a laterally traversing nozzle, the finished surface included an inherent zigzag pattern. The aforementioned smoothing assembly 20 for U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,290 has only been partially effective in reducing the measurable variations in fluid thickness caused by the laterally traversing nozzle. Both the wick and metering pump technologies apply excess lane dressing near the front of the bowling lane and depend on the storage capability of the transfer roller and buffer to gradually decrease the amount of oil as the apparatus travels towards the end of the lane. A desired change in the amount of dressing fluid near the end of the lane can only be achieved by guessing the required changes in the forward travel speed or the amount of oil applied to the front of the bowling lane. Because these technologies have less control in how the residual dressing fluid is transferred along the length of the lane, they often apply a second pass of dressing as the apparatus returns toward the front of the lane to achieve the desired conditioning pattern.
In yet another variation of technology, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,203, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, metering valve technology provided the option for applying lane dressing fluid directly onto the bowling lane, without the associated transfer and buffer roller assemblies. As with metering pump technology, metering valve technology employs a laterally traversing nozzle that can leave an inherent zigzag pattern of uneven dressing fluid thickness on the finished surface.
In an attempt to overcome some of the aforementioned drawbacks of the wick and metering pump technologies, U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,162, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, provided a plurality of pulse valves 70 for injecting dressing fluid through outlet slits 77 onto an applicator roller 48 and then onto the bowling lane. Compared to wick and metering pump technology, the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,162 had several additional unexpected drawbacks which required unreasonably high levels of maintenance of outlet slits 77, which tended to become clogged, for example, and adjustment of other associated components for adequate operation.
Accordingly, even with the advancement from wick technology to the metering pump technology in use at most bowling centers today, consumers continue to demand a higher degree of control for the thickness and layout of dressing fluid along the transverse and longitudinal dimensions of a bowling lane. In fact, as guided by the influx of other related user-friendly and custom technology on the market today, there remains a need for a bowling lane conditioning system which provides a consumer with the ability to automatically and more precisely control in real-time the thickness and layout of dressing fluid along the transverse and longitudinal dimensions of a bowling lane. There also remains the need for a bowling lane conditioning system which is robust in design, efficient and predictable in operation, simple to assemble, disassemble and service, and which is economically feasible to manufacture.